Interviews
How to Give Effective Answers to Hypothetical Interview Questions
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 2 Apr 2018
Sometimes we can breeze through interviews and other times we fall at the first hurdle. If you are getting interviews but not nailing a job offer, you may not be answering the hypothetical questions in the right way. Here is a quick guide on how to tackle those tricky questions if they come up in an interview:
"What would you do if?" Or, "How would you handle ‘X’?"
Questions leading with openers like these are generally focused on how you would resolve a problem or behave in certain circumstances.
Anyone can answer questions after reading a book on the subject so make sure that you stand out. Rather than just saying ‘I would do X, Y, Z’, add an example of your experience and when you have done such work or dealt with such issues.
Some interviewers will go straight in with questions to test your experience, but when they don’t you can take the opportunity to demonstrate your competence.
"What would you do if you realised you had made a colossal mistake?"
Here interviewers will be looking for honesty and how you have resolved a problem.
Always start with realising and admitting you had made an error and then what action you would take to rectify the situation. Outline how you would let your manager know and how you would detail what had gone wrong. Steer clear of blaming others and accept responsibility for yourself. Then move on to what the impact was and what action you could take to rectify it. Include influencing others and how you would enlist support to get the situation fixed as soon as possible.
"What would you do if you knew your manager was withholding key information from you?"
This is a tricky one! Make sure you demonstrate key communication skills by asking your manager in a respectful way for the information you feel you don’t have. If it still isn’t forthcoming you would then have two options:
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- Understand that your manager may not be able to share the information with you right now, or
- If it continues to be an issue and you know everyone else is being given key data, then you can find another route to a more senior manager that can help.
- Understanding the full extent of the role.
- Setting and agreeing key targets and objectives with your manager for the first 3 months and beyond.
- What induction, training and skills you will need to enhance your abilities.
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Glassdoor Team
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